Van Buren cross county athlete Izaak MacMurchy uses his long legs to stride to the finish line every meet.
MacMurchy stands around six feet and four inches. MacMurchy’s height mainly comes from his legs, which measure as taller than MacMurchy’s torso. MacMurchy said his height and passion became two driving factors for beginning his cross country tenure as a freshman.
“Some of my friends were gonna try out in seventh grade [and would start] in eighth grade,” MacMurchy said. “And I always like moving quickly and long distance. It feels great to have the wind in your face when you’re moving and it clears your head.”
MacMurchy said head coach Benjamin Boyd has taught him and the Eagles how to properly run races. MacMurchy said he now understands how to pace himself in his longer days.
“Other races if they’re shorter, you move your stride quicker to get it done faster,” MacMurchy said. “But in 5K, you have to pace yourself to make it go longer.”
Most of MacMurchy’s racing occurs in 5K races. MacMurchy ran his first 5ks with an average mile time of 9 minutes and 45 seconds. MacMurchy has since dropped his recent miles to an average of 8 minutes and 15 seconds. MacMurchy said he needed to change his running style to decrease his times.
“Mine’s a slow start and I try to speed it up,” MacMurchy said. “But sometimes I feel terrible depending on the day. Maybe I might not eat enough or have something that I’ve eaten that upset my stomach but I still run as hard and as fast as I can but it happens and it’ll hurt.”
